Sunday, November 22, 2015

Steve Jobs

I fully admit that I've always been "a Mac." My first computer was a Strawberry Fields-colored iMac and every computer I've since owned has also been a Mac. I'm a very satisfied customer. I'm also faithful to Apple—owning both iPods and iPhones in my time. Again, having no regrets.

So perhaps I went into this film with a bias in favor of its subject.

That really shouldn't matter because I'll be the first to say it's not a perfect film. The main thing that bugged me was the fact that they really didn't care to stick too close to the truth. The entire film is structured around launches that were important in the tech legend's career, yet most of the situations surrounding them (with the exception of the public-facing moments) never happened. True, Jobs (Fassbender) had a rocky relationship with his daughter Lisa. True, his marketing maven Joanna (Winslet) was one of the few people who could call him on his BS. Not true, business partner Steve Wozniak (Seth Rogan) approached him before each launch and argued in public.

There are other sentimental details that were all the work of screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, but I won't mention them here in case you'd like to immerse yourself in the fake magic.

All of that aside, of course the acting is phenomenal. Fassbender and Winslet should do more films together because their chemistry crackles. The writing style is classic Sorkin, meaning it's never boring and always more fast-paced than most people have time to project. It's fun to watch, regardless of what you thought of the man or the myth.

It will come as no surprise that I regard Jobs as a genius, and greatly respect his legacy. Perhaps I'll have to wait for a documentary to see the perspective I'm craving.